Growing interest in high power and efficient lasers in the 20,300 cm-1 to 21,800 cm-1 region has emerged for numerous underwater applications due to the high transmission in this spectrum. Applications include underwater range finding, underwater surveillance from airborne platforms and ship to ship communications. We will leverage our experience with a rare earth element Erbium (Er) and exploit its many energy transitions that can be utilized for this application. Our unique pumping concept will lead to high efficiency and lower threshold energy lasers in the desired wavelengths of interest. The overall technology configuration is simple, comprising of a few integrated components with solid state pumping making it reliable and robust which is ideal for harsh environments such that maintenance in the field may often be difficult.